Thunderclouds
by Nuova
Summary: After a battle Shikamaru and Tenten are given the cursed seal and are forced to leave Konoha. Can they save themselves and the village they love? ShikaTen Chapter four up!
1. Chapter 1

**Chapter One of Thunderclouds**

Disclaimer: I own absolutely nothing.

* * *

Shikamaru never liked being out on the battlefield. Why put so much effort into killing a few when you could strategize and kill many? War was troublesome. He liked the duty bestowed upon him at the moment. Watch over his comrades while they slept and then get his own opportunity to sleep on the next shift.

Which was in three hours. He yawned widely, his eyes scrunching closed and his arms stretching out behind his head. The 19-year-old chuunin's eyes flew open when he heard a particularly horrifying scream closer than usual.

Shikamaru looked over his two charges and sighed. Calm sleep was so hard to come by these days. Frowns were embedded in the two shinobi's faces, and it seemed to be permanent. He gazed idly at the roof of the tent, oh how he missed the clouds.

It took a bloodcurdling scream to bring him back to earth. It was the same scream as before! Shikamaru swore violently, _genjutsu!_

"Kai!"

Shikamaru rose quickly from his chair. He frantically examined his surroundings and saw no signs of anyone entering or leaving the rest tent. No signs of a struggle. Not a single thing was different. But the uneasiness gathering in the pit of his stomach told Shikamaru otherwise.

Confusion took over his senses as he watched the soft rise and fall of his comrades' chests. They looked peaceful. When just moments ago they looked as though they had the weight of the world pressing down on their eyebrows and lips. Shikamaru hated himself for not realizing it sooner, _genjutsu again._

"Kai!"

After another quick visual scan of his comrades Shikamaru confirmed their deaths. He sighed painfully, _I was careless…But at least, now, they're peaceful. _He raised his hands to do seals. But they were glued to his sides. _What's going on?_

"Nara. You don't recognize your own jutsu?" said a voice from the shadows.

Sweat formed on Shikamaru's brow. How could anyone else know his family's jutsu? Unless… this was someone from his clan. A traitor. But he hadn't heard of any Nara traitors, ever. That was more of an Uchiha trait. Shikamaru tried to keep his breathing even. This was a fight against the Sound. Uchiha was with the Sound. Uchiha had the Sharingan which could easily recognize and break down his technique. Uchiha learnt Kage Mane No Jutsu.

"Uchiha Sasuke…" He muttered.

Uchiha Sasuke stepped out of the shadows, Nara Shikamaru stepped towards him. Uchiha looked the same as ever, stoic, cold, and uncaring. The only thing about him that truly changed was his clothes. He sported a beige robe that covered only half his chest and had tied a large purple rope around the waist. The article that truly stood out, though, was the Sound forehead protector that was proudly tied around his forehead.

Shikamaru carefully thought out his options for survival. He could stall for time and wait for someone to rescue him but he knew the chances of that happening were one in a billion, especially during a full-tilt battle. He could stall for time and wait for Uchiha's chakra to run out, but he knew that Sasuke wasn't stupid enough for that to happen and would kill him before that option was possible. He could yell but that would only remind the Uchiha to kill him faster and possibly attract more people to their deaths.

Or he could just accept his death. Shikamaru frowned; _I'll stall until I find a way to break this._

"When did you steal my technique?" He asked.

Sasuke raised an eyebrow, "When you fought Yakushi."

"Did he dress like a slut, too?"

Sasuke's sharingan eyes glared into Shikamaru's ebony. Shikamru fell against the kage mane; his body wanting to fall down in agony. His brain was about to rupture his skull and he couldn't think about anything except the pain. Shikamaru screamed again, it felt like someone had dug a rusty kunai into his neck and twisted.

A smirk graced Uchiha's face, "You're lucky."

The sound of a shuriken whipping by his shoulder caused Shikamaru to jump back. He fell to his knees and grabbed his neck which was still throbbing painfully. The aftermath of the experience still gripping his body, he begrudgingly pushed himself off the ground. He blinked when he saw where the Uchiha had just been standing. He was gone. The Nara attempted to dispel a genjutsu once again, but nothing happened. _How good has he gotten?_

"Shikamaru-san, are you alright?" asked a feminine voice. No doubt the voice of the person who saved him.

Shikamaru turned around and looked at her. It was Tenten. She looked shaken up and drained. One of the buns in her hair was completely chopped off and the short hair fell clumsily over her ears. She had cuts and bruises all over her body but nothing too serious.

"I'm fine. Thank you for saving me." He said with slight resignation.

It was always a woman who saved him…

"It's okay; I came to take your shift. Then I saw him standing in front of you," Tenten said, "Did he say anything?"

"Nothing important. He must have had orders to spare my life and he probably saw no reason to take yours."

"Maybe he still cares about Konoha," She said, sounding hopeful.

"No."

"How are you so sure?"

Shikamaru groaned inwardly. He didn't want to explain it. There was no way around it, though.

"Because he left it. I'm sure he has some sympathies towards Konoha, but not enough. He's a part of the Sound now and after only tasting a small bit of his strength I know he must be ready for Orochimaru. I don't know why he hasn't taken Uchiha's body yet, though. It takes three years for him to be able to leave one vessel and take another. But it's been seven. The fact of the matter is that he has killed some of our best shinobi and he will continue to do so until his brother is dead." Shikamaru let out a long trailing breath to signify he was finished.

Tenten looked insulted, "His brother isn't even a ninja of ours."

They stood in silence, thinking about the last Uchiha. When they realized there was silence. Where was the battle?

--:--Author's Note--:--

An edited first chapter.


	2. Chapter 2

**Second Chapter of Thunderclouds**

Disclaimer: I own nothing.

_They stood in silence, thinking about the last Uchiha. When they realized there was silence. Where was the battle?_

Shikamaru and Tenten faced each other and nodded. A silent plan was made to leave the tent. They stepped over the two bodies and lifted the cloth flap. It was night time and the soft light of the moon illuminated their vision.

The forest was silent, eerily so. Tenten tried to dispel the genjutsu, but there was nothing to dispel. What was going on? The two of them stood stock still for a second straining their ears to hear something, anything. Finally, Tenten heard it, talking. Northeast. She grabbed Shikamaru's vest and pulled on it in the direction of the whispers.

Shikamaru held his ground. He had heard the voices as well, but for all they knew the people speaking could be enemies. Gesturing wildly with his arms, he tried to explain the situation without saying anything. Judging by the look on Tenten's face she had no idea what he had just attempted to say. Shikamaru stared incredulously at her, _what don't you get?_

"It's Sakura and someone else," She said so quietly Shikamaru could have sworn the wind said it.

"How do you know?"

"I recognize her voice. She doesn't sound panicked either."

"What if you're wrong and its henge?"

"What if I'm right and its not?"

"We need to think this through. We can't just go blindly into an-" Shikamaru rationalized.

Tenten cut him off, "-Ambush? We're not going in blindly. We have our eyes. We have our skills."

Shikamaru frowned, "I wasn't finished. I have a plan."

"Oh, sorry, for cutting you off. You have a plan?"

* * *

Sakura was confused, at the very least. After the admittance and healing of several patients the entire area went completely silent at once. After the silence there was the scattered conversations and the few people coming back to tell her what happened. According to everyone the Sound just disappeared. Gone. Like the entire battle was one giant genjutsu.

"Saaaakura-chan!" Came the familiar battle cry from a certain Uzumaki Naruto.

She lifted her head and smiled. He was back! Alive and in one piece, as promised. Even though they were 19 now, Naruto still carried the same positive demeanor. A trait everyone appreciated during the dark times. Although, sometimes if you looked closely into his eyes you could see a haunted look under the carefully painted layer of cheerful blue.

"Naruto," Her eyes moistened a bit, she shook her head. Sakura knew she didn't have to worry when he fought; he always came back okay, "I'm glad you're okay."

He grinned, "Of course I am."

Naruto's smile died down a bit and he said, "You don't have to worry, Sakura-chan."

Her face was grim, "Did you see him?"

"Yeah," His face looked like someone had just hit him in the stomach, "Then he disappeared with the rest of the Sound,"

Sakura closed her eyes. This was just like last time. Naruto getting close, Sasuke running. They were almost out of time. _I wonder if he even knows we still care_… Ever since Kakashi died they'd done everything to find Sasuke again. They still hadn't had more than a brief glance at his face since their encounter four years ago.

Then her and Naruto froze.

* * *

Naruto laughed, "It's okay Shikamaru, it's just us."

Tenten looked at them both and could easily see they were telling the truth. Shikamaru would need more proof than gut-feeling, though, so she nodded at Sakura.

Sakura's eyes widened, "What happened to your hair, Tenten?"

Tenten shook her head as if to say 'never mind that', "What's my last name, Sakura?"

Sakura bit her lip, "When I asked… you told me you'd rather not talk about it."

"Let her go, Shikamaru-san."

Shikamaru raised and eyebrow at Tenten and let Sakura and Naruto go.

He smiled roguishly, "Sorry about that, but you understand."

Naruto nodded back but before Shikamaru could calculate it Naruto was standing behind him with a kunai pointed at his head and his arms in a lock. Naruto let go and punched him in the head with an impish grin.

"See, if that hadn't actually been me you would have been in huge trouble! Why didn't you two ask me anything?" Naruto said, mirth tugging at every word.

Shikamaru was shocked. That was twice in one night someone's speed had actually scared him. After seeing Tenten's face he knew it was the same for her. Sakura looked absolutely livid.

"Naruto! You're such an idiot!" She shouted, obviously holding back a smile.

Naruto looked scandalized, "What are you talking about? I was right!"

"Yeah, but you shouldn't have handled it like that."

"Hmph, and how should I have?"

"Just said it, rather than show off."

"But that's not funny!"

"Neither was that!"

"Yes it was!"

"No it wasn't!"

Shikamaru and Tenten smiled at each other, despite their previous shaming. It had been a long time since an argument this arbitrary had happened. They were both glad that something that normal could still happen in a situation like the one they were in.

Sakura had just punched Naruto in the head and he had flown backwards into Shikamaru. He caught him gracefully and dropped him unceremoniously on the floor in front of him. Naruto laughed.

"I probably deserved that," He chuckled.

Naruto's face went serious again and he turned to Shikamaru, "What happened to you? I didn't see you for a long time there…"

A look of great pain fluttered across Shikamaru's face. He told the entire story to Sakura and Naruto. They looked… jealous, if anything, that Shikamaru had seen more of Sasuke than they did. All three of them didn't say much through his story, and that's something he appreciated more than Naruto getting punched.

Just as Naruto was about to begin his story, Shikamaru inhaled sharply. He had left the bodies in the tent. The bodies he caused to become corpses… _It's not the time to smile…_

"Sakura, Naruto, Tenten, we have clean up duty," Shikamaru glanced around the room, "Everyone here seems to be fine, but just to be safe, you should stay behind, Sakura. The rest of us will clean."

Naruto walked towards the tent flap, the bruise rapidly dissolving on his forehead. A depressed look filled out his face, "clean-up" was a job Naruto clearly hated doing. He had a tendency to get emotionally attached to every ninja in Konoha. He lifted the flap and waved his hand.

"You're right," Naruto said, "Sorry."

With that he walked out into the deserted battlefield.

Tenten and Shikamaru said their goodbyes to Sakura and followed Naruto. The sky was still clear, and the wind was still cold, but something still felt different as they walked back to the sleeping area.

"So, is that it?" Tenten asked, "No more Orochimaru? No more Sasuke? No more Sound?"

Shikamaru shook his head, "No. I don't know why they left so abruptly, but it's not over. When the Uchiha said I was lucky, he looked like he meant _that time_."

Tenten furrowed her eyebrows, "Why do you call him 'The Uchiha'?"

"He doesn't have enough of my respect for me to call him Sasuke," Shikamaru said after a slight pause, "He's ruined a lot of peoples' lives."

"Yes…" Tenten muttered, "Yes, he has."

They walked in silence the rest of the way to the tent. Shikamaru entered first. At first he searched around for anyone waiting to be trapped by his shadow. After seeing nothing but his dead comrades he knelt next to them. He lowered his head and took their hands. He had never known them, never talked to them, but he knew that back home there were two sets of families waiting on a person who could never come back. All because of him and his daydreaming. His laziness.

He gripped the fallen soldiers hands tightly as he felt the oncoming tears sting the back of his eyeballs.

"I'm sorry. I'm so sorry," Shikamaru choked, grunting his tears back to where they came from.

He felt a hand on his back. Tenten kneeled next to him.

"It's okay, Shikamaru," She whispered comfortingly, "They were shinobi, it was their choice to take a job with no life insurance. They fought bravely for Konoha and they died an honourable death."

Shikamaru shook his head vehemently and shrugged her arm off his back, "No. They didn't die an honourable death. They were killed miserably in their sleep because I was careless."

Tenten tried her best to comfort him, "You weren't careless. Anyone would have done the same in your position and wouldn't have even figured out the genjutsus."

Shikamaru continued to look dejected but stood up, resolute. He picked up one of the bodies and motioned for Tenten to take the other. They walked back to the camp and he found himself thinking more about what Tenten said than the actual events.

--:--Author's Note--:--

Yes! Second chapter is finito! All in the same day, too. I didn't even think I'd get a second one done. Onto the third.

Read and review, please!


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3 of Thunderclouds**

Disclaimer: I own nothing.

_They walked back to the camp and he found himself thinking more about what Tenten said than the actual events._

* * *

Days passed with no sign there was ever a village of Sound. A cloud of uncomfortable anguish had settled over the once lively Konoha. When would the next attack be? How hard would their resting rain down on them? The pessimistic were sure the end of Konoha was near. 

Tenten was irritated to say the least. Now a jounin, she was constantly working to defend the border that wasn't being attacked. Her head felt violated. To what purpose had the loss of her hair served? She subconsciously fingered the existing tendrils. Slowly she inched her hand down to the nape of her neck at the oddly-shaped bruise that hadn't healed yet.

_I wonder why he didn't kill me…_ The question that had been plaguing her mind for weeks resurfaced unexpectedly. Even though Tenten was now a respected ninja she knew Sasuke could have easily killed both Shikamaru and herself. He had been so fast… but so had Naruto. The legendary sannins could really teach.

_I need to talk to Shikamaru. _He was there. Maybe he knew why they were still alive. Shikamaru was, after all, a genius. Tenten groaned. How was she going to persuade him it wasn't a troublesome topic?

* * *

Shikamaru was lying on his bed in shock. The day had been something out of a horror story… The only relief was coming home to find his mother admonishing his father about the clothes he didn't fold properly. Finally, something normal. 

_Damn_ _you_, _Uchiha_! He screamed inwardly as he punched his pillow. The bed that had been a place of rest and comfort for nineteen years had suddenly become cold and unfeeling.

All he wanted from life was an average job as a ninja. An average looking wife. Two kids, a girl than a boy. To retire when his daughter married and his son got a job. And to die before his wife. Already he had crossed off the average job, but what else would have to scratch itself from his list?

He scratched violently at the cursed seal on his neck. A grim Tsunade confirmed his new link to Orochimaru. She spent hours trying to find a way to get rid of his seal. Not one technique would seal it. The hokage assigned him a new mission, as well. It was simple but heartbreaking for him. Leave Konoha and, disguised as a traveler, move to the mountains until she found a seal for him. At the end of the exhausting day she shoved a scroll over her desk to him that confirmed his fate. A last will and testament.

Not that he had much to write on it. Shikamaru never had a girlfriend and still lived with his parents. All he wrote on the will was 'Give everything to my parents. They can sort the rest out.'

"_You really are one of the best shinobi in Konoha, Shikamaru. When you're motivated, that is. You've brought back more living comrades than dead, and for that, I have to thank you," Tsunade said as she opened the door for him, "Good luck, Nara Shikamaru."_

Tsunade looked so aged and resigned when she said her farewell to him that he couldn't even whine about how troublesome it was.

_Mother…Father…Chouji…Ino…Asuma…Naruto…Sakura…Kiba…Tenten…_Were his last coherent thoughts before he fell into a disturbing sleep.

* * *

Green and yellow eyes with slits for pupils stared into his own muddy eyes. Shikamaru had never felt so terrified and over what? He screamed, stumbling further into the nightmare. The eyes just stared back into his… amused. Then another set appeared next to them. The blood filled irises with three dark tadpoles swimming around the center. 

"Shikamaru-kun, are you coming to my village?" chuckled a sinister voice.

Shikamaru fell further backwards. His lips felt incapable of movement and his body was numb. What was happening? What was Orochimaru doing in his head?

A sterner voice made itself known, "There's a problem we need your brain for. In exchange we will remove your seal."

_Bullshit…_

The Nara finally found his voice, "Why…?"

Orochimaru answered, "Why you? We know your IQ is over 200. We need you to solve a certain… problem that has presented itself to us."

Every inch of his body was still throbbing, "Why…?"

"We knew you wouldn't come to us unless you had something you needed from us. That's a different kind of cursed seal. In each passing month that you don't solve our problem you'll lose the memory of someone close to you. Orochimaru will cancel the seal when you do what is necessary," replied a pitiless Sasuke.

Shikamaru tried to move, but he couldn't. He had never felt so helpless. Even so, he felt resolute. He would say no, for the sake of his village.

"No? Is that your answer?" Orochimaru asked expectantly, "We thought you might say that. Remember, though, I can control you through this seal. If you don't help us we will use you to kill your own family. Your own friends."

Shikamaru was drowning in his unrelenting future. What could he do to save his village and his friends? He could kill himself.

Sasuke looked bored, "You can't kill just yourself with that seal. We've attached you to that girl, Tenten. Your fate is her fate. You will bring her with you to avoid death."

Trapped and ready for the slaughter. That's what he was. Shikamaru had no choice but to agree.

* * *

Tenten's brown eyes fluttered open and she looked at her alarm clock. She grinned slightly, it was 5:59. One minute, she was always awake one minute before she had to be. 

_Mmmm…_ Yawning cheerfully she hopped out of her covers. Tenten never understood why she was so happy in the morning. Just the idea of a new day streaming in with the sunlight was enough to keep her positive until lunch.

After a quick shower, she pulled on her clothes and glanced at herself in the mirror. Tenten's body was lean and muscular. Her light pink sleeveless shirt buttoned up on the right side of her chest. It was elbow length and baggy, covering her top half modestly as she never felt the need to show off. Sometimes the other kunoichi tried to take her shopping for tighter clothes. She'd politely decline saying 'Where would I hide my weapons?'

_They have a perverted answer for every weapon possible. _She thought with a small giggle. Tenten grabbed an apple and jogged out the door for her morning training.

"Aaah!" She shouted as she tripped over something warm on her way out.

Rubbing her backside as she stood up she turned around to berate whatever tripped her.

"Shikamaru-san?" She said, surprised.

Shikamaru was rubbing his leg and had the audacity to glare at her.

"Ow," was all he grumbled before standing up.

Apparently he had been sitting there waiting for her to come out. Tenten had rarely ever seen him outside of work. In fact, she found it strange for him to be here at all. It seemed so troublesome for him. Actually, the weirdest thing was the large pack strapped to his back.

Shikamaru groaned, "This is troublesome, but I need to check something. Could you pull down your collar for me?"

Tenten almost fainted. _Shikamaru-san's a pervert! _She reached into her pouch and pulled out a kunai.

"Of course not," She all but shouted, "You're such a pervert!"

Shikamaru put his hands up defensively. He backed off, clearly frightened of the angry Tenten.

"No! No. It's nothing like that! I just have to-"

"Check that I'm a girl?" She growled, furious about his reference to her boyish hair, and raised her kunai over his head.

Shikamaru swiftly sidestepped under her arm and stood behind her. A shadow crept to Tenten's body and she froze in mid spin. _Oh no! I can't believe I didn't think about that. _She felt the all the blood in her body rush to her face as her arm reached back and grabbed her collar. The collar pushed down slowly… One inch, two inches, three inches. Then, her collar was pulled back up.

"You women are so troublesome. Men say something and you automatically think it's some kind of reference to your looks. There's something… wrong with you and me. The hokage will explain it to you herself," Shikamaru said, "Now, I'm releasing my jutsu. But you have to calm down, pack your things, and walk with me to the hokage's office. If you pull out another kunai I'll use kage mane again."

Tenten snarled. So that's how it was going to be. Hold on… pack?

"You can let me go, I won't hurt you," She said grudgingly, "But why do I have to pack?"

"I can't tell you with so many people around," He muttered, "Just do it. Everything will be explained in the hokage's office."

Tenten felt the use of her body return and in a fit of indignance stomped on his foot before reentering her apartment.

* * *

"Oh." Tenten said falling weakly into her seat. 

Tsunade looked apologetic, "I'm sorry but there is no other way. With this war going on, I can't spend all of my shinobi's time watching you two. And with Shikamaru's updates, you can't afford to stay in Konoha."

Tenten glanced at Shikamaru who was avoiding everyone's gaze while staring out the window. What was going to happen to the two of them? Were they just going to do what Orochimaru wanted and then somehow get back to the lives they used to live? The seal was tingling. Her old life no longer mattered.

"What will you tell our friends?" She asked, not truly wanting to know the answer.

Tsunade closed her eyes, "They'll think that you and Shikamaru were given slow acting poisons during the last battle. To them you are dead."

Tenten's eyes began to water. _I can't cry here, I can't cry here!_ This new information meant she wouldn't even be able to say good-bye to her friends. She was going to be buried alive. She was pounding on the lid and it wouldn't budge. Tenten felt Shikamaru's body tense. He didn't know about this part either.

With an enormous amount of effort she pushed herself out of the chair and grabbed her pack. As she walked out the door, she turned and looked Tsunade in the eye.

"You know, Hokage-sama? On my first day as a genin Gai-sensei asked us what our goals were. Mine was to be like you."

And with one last look at her former idol, she stepped out into the hallway and into her future.

--:--Author's Note--:--

Eep! That chapter was hard to write. I hit a writer's block four or five times. But here it is, chapter three of Thunderclouds! I hope you enjoyed it.

Please review!


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter 4 of Thunderclouds**

Disclaimer: I continue to own nothing.

_And with one last look at her former idol, she stepped out into the hallway and into her future._

* * *

The sunset was beautiful that night, a reflective canvas of vermilions and corals, highlighting the prominent features of the past and present hokages. The clouds were only shining the most vibrant yellows back to the earth. Konoha looked like a dream and Shikamaru was strangely glad that's how he was to leave the Leaf village. 

After one last look at his previous home he turned to his mission partner. Tenten looked like she had just lost her best friend, Shikamaru tactfully remembered, she had. They both had. His chest flinched. It was hard to cope with the idea of not seeing his troublesome mother again, and his whipped father.

So he contented himself with the clouds. But as they faded into the night he realized there were no more clouds to distract himself with.

"Tenten-" Shikamaru started.

"No, I'm sorry, Shikamaru-san, but I'm not in the mood to talk, right now," She interrupted quickly.

"Tenten-" Shikamaru started, again.

"What! What more could you possible want?" She finally cried, "It's all your fault! If you hadn't "checked" my stupid neck, if you hadn't brought me to the hokage, I would be finishing a shift as a guard today!"

Shikamaru had never felt so insulted in his life, his fault? His fault? If it were anyone's fault it was Orochimaru's for being too stupid to solve a problem. If they had to blame themselves, it was their own unsightly lack of skills that gave them the marks. There was plenty of blame to go around but not all of it was for Shikamaru.

Tenten was hysterical. She was banging her fists against an insignificant looking Shikamaru. He grabbed her wrists, opting not to use his jutsu, and in the pale glare of the moon attempted to calm her down wordlessly. It didn't work. She struggled fiercely against his hold on her wrists.

The Nara kept his voice low, "It's Orochimaru's fault. If I hadn't taken you to the hokage we would probably both be dead soon, or worse, killed our fellow villagers. Remember, what happens to me, happens to you. If I lose memories of people, you do too. If I die, you do too. I saved your life."

He felt Tenten slump against his hands. He didn't let go until he heard the words come out of her mouth as she whispered contemptuously at him, "I wish I didn't save yours."

_I wish I didn't save yours. _The words washed over his consciousness as he walked silently after her. _Women are so troublesome, first they're quiet and then they explode nonsense. _Tears built up in his eyes as he remembered his mother yelling at him, three hours after being happy for his promotion.

Shikamaru stopped in his tracks. Why should he stay with a woman who clearly hated him? All that would happen was she would kill him in his sleep. _No she wouldn't, the seal._ He took another step forward and halted again. Tenten was a perfectly capable kunoichi; she could take care of herself. _She's still a woman, I can't just leave her alone…_ but they couldn't be partners in this if she hated him and he, personally, didn't care left or right about her. _Right?_

The male chuunin held back a while longer, waiting for a logical decision to come to him. Finally he decided and sped off in the direction that, for reasons he couldn't place his finger on, made sense.

* * *

Tenten shook her head. She truly shamed herself. That was the rudest thing she had ever said to a person she should have been thanking. The worst part was she hadn't even turned around yet. To take back her words would be even more humiliating than saying them in the first place. 

Was she being honest though? Tenten sifted through her various opinions on the matter. In a sense she wasn't even sure she saved him. Clearly the enemy didn't want him dead, anyway, so there was no reason to get worked up about her throwing a shuriken in the foe's general direction.

Tenten hadn't saved his life at all, come to think of it. But the laziest man in existence still found the effort in himself to find her and bring her with him to keep them both alive. Her ego snapped in two as she thought of this. Until now, she had thought herself a fairly kind person.

She had to apologize to him. Her face worked itself into a frown. Shikamaru's presence wasn't anywhere to be felt. _That's strange… wasn't he just there?_ Tenten noticed something else. Chakra! But it wasn't Shikamaru's, someone was there. Deftly she leapt off her tree branch in the reverse direction.

Or at least that's what she tried to do. In mid leap Tenten noticed a thin and barely visible string attached to her leg. Had she been so absorbed in her thoughts that she didn't even notice a trap? Without thinking she whipped a kunai out of her sleeve and flicked it at the offending rope.

The kunai bounced off without even leaving a mark. Her eyes widened, _I just sharpened that yesterday! _Not defeated so easily she threw two shuriken at a branch higher up and strung a chakra rope around them. She hung off her own rope and fought unsophisticatedly with the twine imprisoning her foot.

It was hair! But it wasn't normal hair. The hair looked as though it was camouflaged to look like a log. It was razor sharp next to her sandal, which she assumed was for cutting her foot off if given the chance. It was stronger than anything she had ever dealt with.

Tenten groaned loudly. In order to escape she would have to perform her greatest technique. It would rob her of nearly all her chakra and if that happened she could be easily killed by the enemy. _If I die, you do too. _She shuddered as she remembered Shikamaru's cryptic words. Wasn't the whole point of them traveling together to prevent their deaths?

She had no choice. She would have to use her forbidden technique if she had any hope of saving herself and Shikamaru, who she realized still hadn't found the decency to show up. So with her right hand hanging desperately onto her chakra rope and her left hand fumbling for the scroll she begged every god in the heavens to let her survive this, as an apology to Shikamaru.

Tenten bit her thumb and wiped the blood across the scroll, "Leg katana no jutsu!"

She shivered as the unpleasant sensation of her leg turning into a chakra infused katana took place. Her toes hardened into a tough steel with her blue aura coursing through it. Tough enough to cut through anything…

Even hair! A joyful battle cry erupted from Tenten's lips before she passed out and dropped to the forest floor.

--:--Author's Note--:--

Gah! I'm sorry for the extremely short chapter and the cliffhanger. I just… I just… had to. I'm also sorry I won't be able to update as frequently. Summer school really is a bitch.

Please review, for the sake of my ego and sanity.


	5. An Apology

So... It's been around two and a half years since I've last updated this fic. I figure it'd be nice to offer an explanation to those who might still want to read it or are waiting patiently for an update. A lot of things came up and I ended up not even thinking about Naruto until recently.

When I started this, I think I was somewhere before Shippuden starting and after Sasuke defecting. But, now, I've seen every episode thus far and read every chapter of the manga. So with my knowledge being completely different, I won't be able to continue with this fic at all.

BUT I'm going to be writing some other fics and maybe I'll even find a clever way to write a different Shikaten story.

Sorry for leaving you high and dry with Thunderclouds. Maybe this seems obnoxious with how few reviews I've gotten but, even so, I wanted to offer an apology for the unfinished fic. I know I hate it when people leave things without an end.

Thanks for reading! And especially thank you for reviewing.

, Nuova


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